Novel Concepts in the Developmental Origins of Adult Health and Disease1

Season of birth influences the timing of first menstruation

“…For example, according to Barker's hypothesis, early environmental conditions, mainly the quantity and quality of nutrition received in utero and infancy, are strongly correlated with the prevalence of many chronic ailments in adulthood (Barker, 1994). These findings were confirmed by other researchers, demonstrating a relationship between retarded fetal and infant growth rates and the occurrence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions in adults (Bateson et al, 2004;Cameron and Demerath, 2002;Lebenthal and Bier, 2007). It is commonly held that the cumulative effect of nutritional and hormonal factor at early stages of life contributes to the so-called "early programming" phenomenon in the form of permanent changes in the body's structure, physiology, and metabolism (Gluckman et al, 2005).…”

Intrauterine insulin resistance in fetuses of overweight mothers

“…The intrauterine environment has a substantial influence on the health and disease state of a fetus in both the short‐ and long‐term 1–3 . The long‐term effects of the intrauterine environment on the offspring have been generalized in the ‘developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)’ theory 4,5 . Maternal obesity 6,7 and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) 8 are both common pregnancy complications which are associated with various diseases of the offspring that may emerge during childhood or even adulthood 9 …”

Prenatal Exposure to Lipopolysaccharide Results in Local RAS Activation in the Adipose Tissue of Rat Offspring

“…According to recent studies, the occurrence of many adult chronic diseases is closely related to the growth environment of the fetus in utero [11], [12]. An animal model for prenatal exposure to LPS resulting in offspring rats with hypertension was successfully established after years of research in our laboratory.…”